Chapter 25 #2
“Yeah. He took over for—”
“Rafael.” The older man whispered the name.
“You’ve heard of him, Dad?”
He seemed to shake it off, focusing on Jaz. “Go on.”
Jaz didn’t want to go on. He had a feeling Wright had information Jaz needed.
But rather than demand answers, he told Kenzie’s dad about El Fantasma and the rumor that he’d murdered Sebastián.
How he’d taken over and was now responsible for, according to Wentz, more than half of the drugs smuggled over water into the US.
“He’s been on their radar for years, but nobody knows his identity. ”
Wright looked from Jaz to Kenzie and back. “How is he involved in all of this?”
“My DEA contact believes—and it tracks with what I’ve learned—that El Fantasma is the one who set Kenzie up.”
Wright’s tanned skin paled. “You’re sure?”
“Well…” Again, he glanced at Kenzie. She looked concerned but didn’t say anything. “I’m not sure of anything, but that’s what the information suggests.”
Wright swallowed. The man exuded power, but at the moment, he looked frightened. “You’ve been on this for a while, Aylett. What do you think? Is Sterling your El Fantasma? Does he work for him? Or is he just a businessman who doesn’t ask his clients too many questions?”
Jaz wished he knew for sure. “All the information I’ve received about The Ghost tells me that he’s Venezuelan or Colombian. Sterling is a Caucasian American. So I don’t think we’ve located him, but these photos tell me Sterling is connected. Maybe he can give us information.”
“What else did you learn about him?” Kenzie asked her dad.
Wright pulled out a tablet and scrolled through documents.
“On the surface, Sterling’s legitimate. The marinas are all legal, licensed, and paying taxes.
He has no criminal record. He’s well-respected in the maritime community.
A philanthropist—he donates to ocean conservation and organizations serving the poor in the Caribbean. ”
“Perfect cover,” Jaz said.
“If it is a cover.” Wright seemed to have gotten over whatever had spooked him. “If not for these photos and the strange coincidence of his office and those management companies, there’d be nothing to investigate. Either he’s very good at hiding criminal activity, or—”
“Or he’s not involved,” Kenzie finished. “But if that’s the case, then what was he doing in Caracas?”
“There are ports there.” Jaz worked through possibilities.
“Maybe he didn’t know who Rios was. Maybe he was trying to…
I don’t know, cut through red tape to build a marina.
Or…” He thought back through what he knew.
“Let me start at the beginning. I’m looking for someone who has access to marinas who could coordinate with Magras to connect the cartel with transport.
” He nodded at Kenzie. “Unwitting transport.”
“Sterling ticks the boxes,” Kenzie said.
“And he’s associated with the yacht management companies,” Jaz said. “It seems believable that he’s connected to El Fantasma.”
“Or at least to the cartel.” Kenzie’s lips pressed together as she processed a thought. “But you said most people in the cartel don’t know who The Ghost is.”
“Right.” So even if Sterling was guilty, Jaz might not be any closer to finding the guy. “What do you think?” He focused on Wright, who’d been quiet for their exchange. “Where do you think we go from here?”
“I think you two are asking the right questions. I have people digging deeper. I’ll let them know everything you’ve told me, and we’ll see what they turn up.”
“Okay. Meanwhile, I’ll call Wentz again.” Jaz reached for Kenzie’s phone. “If that’s okay.”
“Help yourself.”
“Special Agent Franklin Wentz?” Wright asked.
“You know him?”
“Of him.” Wright was watching Jaz closely. “He has a good reputation for getting answers, no matter what it takes.”
“That’s the guy.” Jaz already knew Wentz would use him up and spit him out. To him, Jaz was nothing more than a tool to be wielded.
He also happened to be Jaz’s only hope for freedom.
He took Kenzie’s phone and called, but of course Wentz didn’t answer. He hung up and tapped a message.
It’s Jaz on K’s phone. 911. Critical intel on El Fantasma with photos.
Jasper sent the message. Watched as it showed delivered, then read.
Now they waited.
Jasper set the phone on the table. “He’ll call when he can.”
“In the meantime, we keep working.” Wright turned the laptop back toward himself, his focus on Kenzie. “Walk me through these routes. Start with the earliest deliveries.”
For the next hour, they worked through Kenzie’s records. Wright asked sharp questions—about yacht owners, crew sizes, cargo areas she might have seen. Jasper added what little he could, based on what he’d learned.
They needed Wentz to call back, but for now, they had a lead, and evidence, and a team working the problem.
Kenzie caught Jaz’s eye and smiled, a small, hopeful smile that said she believed they could do this. That they were getting close.
He wanted to believe it too.
Kenzie’s phone rang, the sharp trill cutting through the quiet courtyard. He glanced at the screen and answered, putting it on speaker.
“Thanks for finally getting back to me.” He probably should’ve skipped the finally.
“Considering I probably saved your life yesterday,” Wentz snapped, “you might want to lose the tone.”
“You’re right. I appreciate the heads-up.” Jaz pulled the surveillance photos closer. “There’s a man named Richard Sterling. He owns a number of—”
“I know who he is. What about him?”
Jaz didn’t look at Kenzie or Wright, frustrated at the way his handler treated him. Embarrassed, really, which was…embarrassing.
“We found a photograph of him meeting with Rios in Caracas. We’ve uncovered proof that he’s been to Venezuela multiple times. If Sterling isn’t El Fantasma, then he’s connected with him.”
Jaz hadn’t expected a whoop of joy—his handler wasn’t the whooping type—but the man’s tired sigh surprised him.
“Sterling’s one of ours.”
The words were a slice to Jaz’s inflated hope.
“He discovered the smuggling operation running through his marinas about four years ago and came to us,” Wentz explained. “He’s been feeding us information ever since. He’s been able to get close to Rios but hasn’t had any more luck than you have at finding The Ghost.”
“You’re sure?” Jaz kept his frustration from bleeding into his tone.
“Don’t know how you got your hands on those photos. If you’re hacking into—”
“You always know just the right thing to say.” Truth was, if Jaz had any computer hacking skills, he’d hack anyplace that would get him the lead he needed.
“Where’d you get the photos, Jasper?”
He looked at Wright, who shook his head. “I have a connection.”
“Your connection shouldn’t be giving you classified information.”
“I’ll let him know I’m not to be trusted,” Jaz deadpanned.
A weary sigh. “Sterling’s the one who told us about Rios’s nephew’s wedding, which is why we were able to get those pictures. He’s been documenting everything he learns.”
Kenzie slid her hand over Jaz’s fist, which he was clenching. He forced his hands to relax, if not the rest of him. He’d spent five years chasing his tail, and the one solid lead he’d found wasn’t a lead at all but another asset.
Something niggled at him, though. Something wasn’t right.
He scanned the photos, but that wasn’t it. He closed his eyes and went back over everything he knew about Sterling, the marinas, the photos, the office. “Wait. If he’s not connected, then why did we find his address associated with companies that hired Kenzie?”
“What are you talking about?”
“We’ve been digging into Kenzie’s files. Most of her clients came through management companies. Five of them are located on St. Martin, three in Phillipsburg. We went to the addresses, but they’re all different sides of the same building. I broke in last night, and—”
“That was you?”
Jaz snapped his jaw shut.
“You triggered a silent alarm. Sterling called this morning, spooked. He thought his cover was blown. We’ve been trying to calm him down.”
“I didn’t realize—”
“You need to be more careful.”
The words had Jaz standing and glaring at the phone.
“Now you want me to be careful? You’ve had me scrambling like a madman for years trying to get this guy, and now I find out you had another asset all along?
Did it occur to you to share with me what he’d learned?
Instead, I’m risking my life uncovering… nothing.”
“Just calm down.”
Calm down? It took all of Jaz’s self-control not to throw the phone against the brick courtyard wall.
Kenzie’s eyes were wide and filled with concern.
But Wright…Wright was smirking, shaking his head. If Jaz had hoped to make a good impression, he was failing miserably.
Leaving the phone on the table, Jaz spun and paced to a flowering bush in the corner of the courtyard. Great big pink flowers his mother would’ve loved.
He squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t want to think about his mother or his father or Noah or Charlotte. He just wanted his life back.
He took a breath and blew it out. Wentz might not be a friend, but he wasn’t an enemy. Jaz needed to think logically.
He spun and returned to the table. The call was still connected, but Wentz was quiet on the other end. “How is Sterling associated with the yacht management companies, then?”
“He’s not. I don’t understand what you’re saying.” Wentz’s tone had shifted from irritated to interested. “How did you get his address?”
“Three yacht management companies are located at Sterling’s business. We thought he was running them, but when I broke in, I found nothing except…”
He plopped down in his chair, putting it together. Whoever had set up the management companies was using Sterling’s address. If Sterling didn’t know that, if he wasn’t involved… “They know about him. Sterling. They’re setting him up.”
“That can’t be…” Wentz uttered a colorful string of curses. “I’ll call you back.”
The line went dead.